In all the symptoms of decadence which the recent history of the American Republic exhibits, there is none more conspicuous and apparently more irreparable than the decline in capacity and character of her public men.
Sumner identifies the decline in the quality of public figures as a significant issue in American politics.
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Let us at all hazards prevent the extension of Slavery and the increase of the Slave Power.
It is a cause which, though long kept in check throughout our country, as also in Europe, now confronts the people and their rulers, demanding to be heard.
Their existence is a disgrace to civilization; for it implies the common consent of nations to the Arbitrament of War, as regulated by these laws.
The subterfuges of the politician cannot escape it.
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